Pros: Affordable. Large reception area. Multiple outdoor ceremony sites. Awesome bridal suite. Horses on premises (for photos!). Reception chairs and tables included in rental fee. Twelve hour rental (10am-10pm). Plenty of parking. Actually in my hometown.Cons: Must rent chairs for outdoor ceremony. Not lenient for decorations (must be free standing). Bathrooms are upstairs. The Mansion has a slightly more formal look than I was originally intending.

We visited Bolingbroke Mansion as per my mother's request. We hadn't called ahead to be able to see the inside, but it seems to be a mostly outdoors event space anyway. There is a ceremony site in the backyard and a lovely open side patio. It definitely has a colonial feel, complete with colonial-blue paint.

Pros: Cheap! Definitely affordable, and not booked for September 2012. Open to decorations, willing to take down framed pictures and let me put up my own. Plenty of parking. Seven hour rental. Open catering policy. Easily located.Cons: Interior is small. Colonial blue paint...weird curtains that would have to be covered up or taken down. Somewhat close to the highway/traffic.Not Sure if it's a Pro or a Con, but: an event here would have to be small and intimate (max 100 guests). Food would have to be served buffet style at food stations. Has a very "backyard" feel.

We visited Appleford as per request of my older sister. She had been to a wedding here before and said it was lovely. My mom had also requested we visit. Appleford is an estate set back on grounds that are a bird habitat/reserve. It's a totally, super gorgeous, very "old-Pennsylvania" mansion surrounded by gardens. Honestly, Appleford is more on the "no" side of "maybe" due to cost.

3 comments:

Colin's cousin got married at Appleford in September of 2009 and it was a gorgeous venue for an evening wedding. They had intended to have an outdoor ceremony, but the weather was a bit rainy, so everything was on their patio, with the cocktail hour in their two big front rooms in the house. She had about 80-100 guests, and it was a nice size space on the patio for the ceremony, seating for dinner and a dance floor. Also, her husband surprised her with the mummers at the reception. The mummers!

The mummers?! Holy Moley! What an awesome, very "Philly" wedding. Appleford is so gorrrrggggeous. If it were a lower price range I would be all over that. I think I'm leaning towards going with a cheap venue, and spending more time/effort/money on over-the-top DIY decorations :D